Future Now
The IFTF Blog
How to kick butt at kicking butts: A novel approach to smoking cessation
In the past year or so, I have had the opportunity to cross paths several times with Brian Mossop, a really smart neuroscientist/blogger whose wife, Kit, is a senior clinical scientist at Proteus, one of my all-time favorite Silicon Valley bio-tech companies. In their spare time, Brian and Kit have developed a unique, science-based approach to smoking cessation called Project Kick Butts. Here's the quick pitch:
The Kick Butts program combines five evidence-based behavioral strategies into one, straight-forward program. By combining the power of progressive cigarette reduction (aka tapering), rewards, self-tracking, social networks, and exercise, participants will not only become smoke-free, but will see an overall improvement in their health over the course of our program. Participants gradually taper off their cigarettes per day, by "earning" a daily maximum number of cigarettes, through activities such as reading educational material, supporting members of their quitting network, or through exercise. The result is a feedback loop, where more exercise not only helps smokers regain health, it also decreases their urge to smoke. Quitting smoking is hard -- Project Kick Butts can help.
This approach seems incredibly counter-intuitive—the more I exercise, the less I will want to smoke (if I were a smoker)?? According to Brian, there is some scientific evidence to support this idea. An fMRI study published in 2009 showed that acute exercise reduced cigarette cravings and brain activation in response to smoking-related images.
Project Kick Butt also relies on some well-recognized elements of persuasion that can be used to support behavior change. It has a team-based structure that taps into the power of social networks and accountability to others, and it includes a reward system that is also intended to motivate change. The combination of a web-based platform and a mobile app make it easy to keep track of one's progress.
Last time I checked, Brian and Kit did not have any data to prove that Project Kick Butts works. He was looking for seed funding for a pilot study, which he hoped would show a greater than 25% quit rate, which is an ambitious target. I'll let you know if this idea really kicks butt—or not.